7/1/2015 - Women's Rights Activists are Suing the Kenyan Government for Reproductive RightsA woman in Kenya is suing the Kenyan government for failure to provide safe and legal abortions, which caused her daughter - a 15-year-old rape victim - to suffer a kidney failure after undergoing the procedure illegally.
Currently, there are four petitioners on the case: the mother of the survivor, the Federation of Women Lawyers-Kenya, and two other women's rights advocates....

6/16/2015 - China's Maternal Mortality Rate Has Decreased DramaticallyThe National Health and Family Planning Commission released a report this month showing that China's maternal death rate has dropped by over seventy-five percent in the past twenty-five years.
China's maternal mortality rate dropped from 23.2 per 100,000 births in 2014 to 21.7 per 100,000 births....

6/9/2015 - Rana Plaza Victims Will Receive CompensationAfter a two-year campaign for compensation for the victims of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, the International Labour Organization has succeeded in securing $30 million in compensation.
In April 2013 a multi-story building in Bangladesh that housed five garment factories and a shopping center collapsed, killing at least 1,127 workers and injuring another 2,500....

5/26/2015 - Ireland Votes Overwhelmingly to Legalize Same-Sex MarriageOver the weekend, the people of Ireland voted overwhelmingly to pass a national referendum legalizing same-sex marriage.
Ireland became the first country in the world to pass marriage equality through popular vote on Friday....

4/30/2015 - 400 Women and Children Have Been Rescued From Boko Haram in NigeriaIn two different operations in under a week, Nigerian troops have rescued more than 400 women and children who had been kidnapped by Boko Haram.
On Tuesday, Nigerian troops announced they rescued 200 girls and 93 women from Boko Haram - and today news has come out that troops rescued another 160 women and children.
While the news is promising and shows progress made in Nigeria to combat Boko Haram, the girls rescued were not the Chibok girls who inspired the #BringBackOurGirls movement last year....

4/10/2015 - US Ranks 16th Worldwide on 2015 Social Progress IndexThe United States ranks 16th in the recently released 2015 Social Progress Index, which assesses and scores countries worldwide across three categories: Basic Human Needs, Foundations of Wellbeing, and Opportunity....

4/7/2015 - Iranian Women Can Now Attend Major Sporting EventsIranian women will now be allowed to attend major sporting events, Iran officials announced on Saturday.
Although the new policy still holds barriers for women attending specific sports - those considered to be more "masculine" such as wrestling or swimming - this announcement reverses an antiquated rule that forbid women to watch matches attended by men.
Abdolhamid Ahmadi, the deputy minister for sports, told the state news agency on Saturday that the country's national Security Council had approved a government proposal to allow women to watch games this year....

9/9/2014 - Court Sentences Seven Men for Gang Rape in AfghanistanAn Afghan court convicted seven men for the gang rape and robbery of four women in Paghman district near the city of Kabul.
According to reports, a group of men - some dressed in police uniforms and carrying assault rifles - stopped a group of cars traveling in Paghman last month, pulled the women from their cars, and raped them in a nearby field....